Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

A Killer Loss Puts Phillies on the Brink

Unless the Phillies win three consecutive games against the New York Yankees, Game 4 of the 2009 World Series will be remembered as one of the most gut-wrenching losses in team history. I’m guessing it’s somewhere between Game 6 of the 1993 World Series and Black Friday (Game 3 of the 1977 NLCS).

The Phillies never had a lead, but they tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning when Pedro Feliz hit a solo home run to left field. They had two outs in the top of the ninth when Johnny Damon came back from a 1-2 count against Brad Lidge in a nine-pitch at-bat to single to left field.

Then the unbelievable happened. Damon stole second with Mark Teixeira at the plate. The Phillies enacted a defensive shift for Teixeira, which meant Feliz took the throw at second with Jimmy Rollins backing him up. Damon noticed nobody covering third and took off. He reached third easily.

“I just went off instinct and fortunately it worked out,” Damon said.

“To be honest, that’s not really something you go over a lot,” said Lidge, asked who should have been covering third. “I don’t know who is supposed to cover third on that. It was kind of a weird play where no one ends up being there and it becomes a foot race and he’s faster than I am. It’s kind of an unusual play. You’re kind of out of sorts and then all of a sudden there’s just nobody at the bag.”

“That’s a play, we never got anybody to say, ‘OK, you’ve got to go there, you’ve got to go here,'” Feliz said. “I got the bag at that time and J-Roll was backing me up and nobody was on the other side. He saw that and took off for third.”

Rollins said it was his fault.

“I make sure the pitcher knows that he knows on a steal he has to cover third,” Rollins said. “At that time I didn’t really mention anything to Brad, so when he made the pitch in his mind it was just a regular steal. But with the way the defense is set up it’s my job he makes sure he knows to go to third. I’m the captain of the infield. That’s my job. I did it before when Chan Ho (Park) was pitching and I just didn’t do it that time.”

We know what happened next. Lidge hit Teixeira with a pitch. Alex Rodriguez doubled to score Damon to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Jorge Posada singled to score Teixeira and Rodriguez to make it 7-4.

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46 Comments

This loss hurts. Not only because it means we have to go 3-0 from here on out, but because of the way it happened. Feliz’s HR gave us the momentum, and then, as so often this year, Lidge blew it. Charlie should have lifted him right after he hit Teixeira. It was clear he was rattled by the steal. Tonight we haveLee going and I’m confident, but who goes game 6? not to mention, hopefully game 7??

Our hitters aren’t hitting, are starters aren’t dominating, and our bull pen simply hasn’t shown up for the Series. We’ve seen these streaks before, and we all know how they end, with a run of games where everything does work, and they are unbeatable for 5-10 games. The question is, will the change happen in time?

The replays of Damon fouling off the 2-2 pitch seemed like he didn’t hit it. It bounced in the dirt, didn’t see the bat hit it. It looked like Ruiz tags him and that inning is over. I so agree, Lidge should’ve been pulled, walk A-Roid and have Eyre face Posada.

Blanton is game 4 was fine, but still think Pedro should’ve pitched game 3 and Hamels game 2 since Yanks were pumped to win that game anyway and then we get a good pitching performance in game 3 and possibly win. And, one of our best pitchers – Happ – has been used sparingly. I have to agree that Manuel has been in a slump too – using Bruntlett in game 3 and how he’s used pitchers (and not used them) is a little confusing. Last year everything he did went well.

fan_in_jerusalem is right, they’ve gone through these bad streaks all season, but it doesn’t look like they’ll come out of this one until next season. I do hope I’m wrong, but I hope Lee shows up and keeps anybody from celebrating on our home field.

The Philadelphia Phillies are playing the best team in the baseball in a 7 game series; first team with 4 victories wins. The best team in baseball has 3 wins. The Phillies have 1. How many games must the Phillies win before the best team in baseball wins 1????

Thank you Charlie Manual for not having the best pitcher this post season pitch the 4th game of the WS, and what could have been a 7th game. Even if the Phillies win the next two games, they’ll hafta face Sabathia with either a gutless Hamels, or some otehr scrub. This is why Girardi is a better manager than Manual. And if anyone tries to argue that, you’re out of your mind. Charlie Manual gave the Yankees this WS title on a silver platter. MVP of the 2009 World Series – Manager Charile Manual

If Ruiz catches that foul tip from Damon, the inning is over and the Phillies face the soft underbelly of the Yankees bullpen (Phil Hughes) and the series is tied 2-2. Joba was already sobbing uncontrollably in the dugout, so he is toast.
The Yankees just won three in a row, getting every break imaginable. There is no reason to think the World F’ing Champs can’t do the same. Cliff Lee is as close to a guarantee as you can get, and everybody starting from here on for the Yankees are on short rest. Crooked numbers from the Phillies, coming right up. Hang in there phans. This thing is not over.

Hey clown, so far you have predicted a sweep by the Yankees and that the Yankees would unload for at least 6 against Blanton. Good job by you.
Please, do me a favor. Guarantee a Yankees win tonight. You’re on a hot streak.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all be happy at christmas. If I were 7 feet tall I’d play in the NBA. If I [picked the right numbers, I’d win the lottery, and if Cliff Lee acceptaed a trade to the Yankees rather than the Phillies mid season, he’d have a ring in a few days. You making predictions on this site is laughable. What happened to Phillies in 5? lol Did you mean in the next 5 decades? Cause that would be more consistent with your track record. These aren’t the Devil Rays pal. And you’ll only be able to say “World F-ing Champs” for another day or so buddy, so wear it out. hahahahahhaahha

If my grandmother had Balls, she’d be my grandfather. No point in talking about what would have been. Fact is, Ruiz didn’t catch it, Damon did steal 3rd, and we loss. The other faqct is that we will put up one hell of a fight tongith with Cliff on the mound. I’m worried about games 6-7. I hate our starting pitching right now after Lee.

There is a logical Phillie fan. Thank you my Jerusalamic buddy. I think the Phillies will win tonight. Cliff Lee has the Yankees number. THATS WHY YOU START HIM 3 GAMES CHARLIE!!!! Wow. For a manager that gets so much credit to drop the ball this bad. Unbelievable. You gotta realize, after Lee, the Phillies have no one that can hold down the Yankees lineup for more than 5 innings, and that bullpen is just the worst. Awful move by manuel. He looks very stupid right now.

Wrong TCD. He’s never pitched on 3 days rest and now isn’t the time to start. he’s already pitched too many innings this year. What you do is figure out why your number 2 pitcher (Hamles) is a meltdown and how you get pedro to resemble the guy who pitched in LA last series. Relax you Junkies fan, we’ll still make a series out of this, and quite possibly win it. Watch the crowd in Phila tonight and be envious of how real fans (not fake ones who leave in the 8th inning of a loss) sound and act!! Go phillies!!!!

LOL!! tcd has just established that he is a front-running, casual fan who knows nothing about baseball. Rivera was not even warming up until the Yankees got runners on base. He was not coming into a tie game in the ninth inning on the road. It’s baseball 101.
Who will you be folowing next year? I guess if the Red Sox won the AL Pennant, you would be wearing a pink Sox hat.

hahahaha, I take back the comment on you be logical now. The Phillies are outmatched in every facet of the game against the Yankees. You can’t even take 2 of 3 at home against them. What makes you think you’ll win both at Yankee stadium??? Without Lee pitching??? It’s a joke how confident you Phillie fans are. And you’re right about the fans in Yankee stadium, that was weak. Unfortunately though, it’s because real fans are priced out of the WS seats. It’s just part of what the organization does in its efforts to fund the highest payroll in sports. You guys should take a mpage out of the book. O wait, New Yorkers are waaaayyyyyy more ballin than you Philthy scrubs, hahahah. Eat your heart out Philly, you’ll never measure up to the Yankees

That’s Philly baseball 101. If you watched the Yankees all year, you’d see that girardi has used Rivera in those situations. He may not have been warming at the time, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have went to him. Say world f-ing champs for me a few more times. hahaha. Tell me something, when the Yankees win the trophy, will it come directly from the Philly duugout? Or do they present us with a new one?

LOL, you just said nothing. Per usual. You don’t know anything about me or my fan hood. You are realing reaching for something to say in response for my posts. It’s kinda sad, as every thread of baseball hope begins to dwindle for you, and you have nothing but your self-hatred as a Philthy to spew onto me. I almost feel bad for you. Almost. But then again, your just a typical “talk junk til my team is out” Philadelphia fan, who doesn’t care to give any team respect, even when greatness is staring them in the face. Just try not to choke on your cheese steak when your crying watching the Yanks take home the trophy on your field tonight. You know its gonna be a long time before you see another championship in Philadelphia.

And at least Joba cares enough to cry. Lidge has no guts, and Hamels “just wants it all to end.” Looking at the two of them after their debacles, you’d never know how badly they blew their respective games for their team. lol, you hafta say something about Joba crying to try to insult the Yankees. Well, I can say game 2, game 3, game 4, 27th world championship knockin on the door.

All the Yankees starters are pitching on short rest from this point on. Burnett and Pettite haven’t done it before this season, if ever. And how many games has the Yankees 161 million dollar pitcher won in this series? The Yankees starters won’t go deep and Chamberlain and Hughes are toast.
The Phillies are going to make the Yankees sweat this one out before it is over.

Ok, maybe not tonight, I conceded this game in a previous post, I just knew it would get you riled up to say tonight. I think Lee probably wins tonight. But I also think theres an outside chance that someone on the Philles, maybe even Lee, completely blows the game on a bad play or two. The Phillies aren;t together this series. The Yankees have taken advantage of many mistakes, and missed opportunities. Like a champion I might add. But your right, we’ll probably clinche it in game 6 against our son Pedro

Burnett is 4-0 with an era under 2 on 3 days rest. What are you talking about? And Pettite is the most winningest pitcher in the history of teh post season. Your sounding like the casual fan now. And our huge investment is why we won yesterday. He kept the game close enough for us to get to that clown you call a closer. Your ace Lee, isn’t tough enough to pitch 3 games in a 7 game series. So who’s more valuable?

“Just try not to choke on your cheese steak when your crying watching the Yanks take home the trophy on your field tonight.”

THAT’S a prediction, tcd. And tell me the last time Burnett pitched on three days rest? Certainly not in a postseason, in a hostile building. Pettite hasn’t done it in years and he is 37 with a sore shoulder.
And since you won’t answer the 161 million dollar question, the answer is zero. Zero and one, to be exact.

Look, we can go back and forth all day discounting the facts that we throw at each other. The real fact of the matter is the Yankees need to win just 1 game before the Phillies win 3. Two of those games at Yankee Stadium and NOT against CLiff Lee. And, the Yankees are a better team than teh Phillies. If they haven’t proven that by now, you guys are in denial. Doesn’t mean that the second best team can’t win the series, it’s happened before, but the Yankees are clearly better. And the fact is, our huge investment, statistically might not be so impressive this series, but he is one HUGE reason why we’ve gotten to this point, and we’ve won the last game. So don’t worry about the Yankee owners wallets, there is not bottom to them. Worry about how you’ll never be able to compete against those bottomless wallets.

can we talk baseball instead of this ****?? How about some of the usual arguments about whether Charlie should have yanked Lidge, or who should have covered third, ro are teh Phillies hitting Ster-Roid on purpose etc. This trash talk is boring already

Never be able to compete? Where’s the WS trophy presently reside? The Yankees have spent over a billion on contracts since 2000. How many WS have they won in that time? You really show yourself to be a casual fan when you fail to understand the serendipity of baseball.
It’s too bad casual, front-running fans have to try to spoil what is already a successful season for a team that is trying to repeat as WS champs. But that’s what classless, uninformed ‘fans” do. If anybody needs to wonder why the majority of people hate the Yankees and their boorish fans, tcd is exhibit A.

f-i-j, Lidge wasn’t the problem. Rollins failed by not huddling before Tiexiera came to bat. They had the same circumstance in the 7th inning and Rollins called a huddle and told Chan Ho Park to cover third in case the runner tried to steal second with Tex at bat. It is ridiculous that they didn’t do that in the ninth.
Once Damon got to third, Lidge stopped throwing sliders, which he can’t do. His fastball alone is not enough to take on Tex and A-Roid. I don’t know who calls the pitches, but I am wondering what Ruiz is thinking. He also let Hamels throw some curveballs in his bad inning on Saturday, especially to Pettite. Just stupid.
Today is another day. Hopefully the bats come alive and any pitching issues are moot.

Phan, Lidge coulnd’t throw sliders as it is a pitch that tends to get away from teh catcher. with man on 3rd you can’t risk wild pitch. As for Rollins, he took responsibility, but it was still only a man on thrid with 2 out. Lidge should have finished the inning with no runs. I din’t check, but I wonder if Hamels and/or lidge shook Ruiz off during the innings and at bats in question. Hamels curve was pathetic that inning

Of course there is every reason to believe for a win from Cliff Lee tonite. He has certainly shown he is capable of much and delivers with apparent ease. Truly a joy to watch. Unfortunately for us, the Yankees have also shown they are capable of much and have taken advantage of miscues and oddities that have swung the momentum in their direction over the past three games. But we have watched that same momentum swing in our direction last year and enough this year to get us to this point — The World Series/Game 5 — DESPITE setbacks and the sad imploding of a couple of our players who have had a rough year to say the least. Some question Charlie’s decisions, some have argued about luck, I heard someone say that they are missing Jamie Moyer’s leadership as an active player. We suffer the likes of the trolls here the past few days. But you know what…I have a lot of respect for Jimmy stepping up and taking the blame for what happened last night with Damon. This surely ain’t over yet! This very well may be what JRoll needed to happen for him to take charge from here on out. He is not only the spark plug but the ribar for everyone on this team to say, ” let us go up at once, for we are well able to overcome”! GO PHILLIES!

I really believe that the Phillies can steal momentum tonight. Burnett has been their best pitcher and they are throwing him on three days rest against the best pitcher in the postseason to date. They really should be saving Burnett on full rest for game 6, IMO. He was dominant in game 2 and his splits show him to be a much better pitcher at Yankee Stadium this year. I expect the Phillies to be able to rattle him a little, as long as they haven’t been deflated by last nights’ debacle. If they play their game, this goes back to NY and anything can happen.
One pitch, one inning, one game at a time.

f.i.j.: I know I’m in the Bizarro World when I find myself agreeing with phan52. Lidge absolutely had to throw the slider and trust his catcher. Giving in to A-Rod (and anybody else) by not throwing your best pitch is inviting disaster. I said it at the time when McCarver talked about having a wild pitch score a run.
If you’re going to lose, you may as well go out fighting, not laying in some 92mph fastball. Add that to the fact that the hitters are probably thinking along with McCarver and the slider makes sense in that situation. Besides, it’s not exactly like it’s breaking off like it did last year. It’s still a pretty good pitch, and it was good enough to get the first 2 outs and should have been good enough get the third.

I;’m not saying he shouldn’t have thrown it, i’m saying why he didn’t. He was very rattled after Damon’s steal. Charlie or Dube should have come out to calm him down, and they should have yanked him after he hit the guy bringing in Eyre to face Ster-Roid

Joba Should Cry. He sure can’t pitch under pressure. For as Badly as Lidge has pitched this year , at times, he has had A perfect season closing in his career. What has Joba , the pitch count prima donna , done in his career to even come close to THAT? In a word- Nothing. And before ANY yankee fan brings up the ” 27th championship” , lets not forget the ” choke job” that Jeter and the Yanks pulled off in 2004 against the Red Sox in the post season and the fact that for ALL of the money they have spent since 2000, it’s taken them 9 years to POSSIBLY ( it’s not over YET, tcd) win another WS.

f.i.j.: I’m not sure how you can say he was rattled. He’s been in World Series’ before and isn’t exactly a kid. You’re assuming he was rattled because you would be. That’s not fair to him and I’m not altogether sure it’s an accurate assessment.

As for A-Rod, he’s hitting .308 lifetime with a .389 OBP vs. right-handers and .295 against lefties with a .392 OBP. So, you should really try looking things up before you spout out opinions. It looks to me like he’s a pretty good hitter regardless.

f-i-j, A-Rod is an equal opportunity hitter. He hits everybody. But Eyre does not pitch to righties unless he is pitching to multiple players. You certainly don’t bring him in to pitch to A-Rod with two outs, when you very well may need him later in the game in a tough spot against a lefty. It was a tie game and Lidge was the best option at the moment. He just needed to trust the pitches that got him there, and he didn’t.

tcd133@aol.com, thanks for giving us your e-mail address. You don’t know how lucky you are that someone reading your insolent remarks hasn’t sent you a computer virus yet. Most of us don’t know how to do that, but we can all at least flood your e-mail account with e-mails thanking you for your comments.

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